TAKING THE WATERS IN ELEGANCE AND STYLE:
Spacious family home built by two spinster sisters to cater for spa town tourists
THE Gold Rush brought sudden riches to California – but the source of Strathpeffer’s wealth arrived at a far more genteel pace. Perhaps something like the Spa Stroll would be more appropriate. Certainly, the Ross-shire village hit the jackpot when the bubbling waters beneath its streets were found to bear all manner of healthgiving properties.
The sulphur and iron contained in the water, it was claimed, would alleviate such conditions as digestive and kidney complaints, heart problems, rheumatism and skin disorders.
The Victorians flocked to Strathpeffer to ‘take the waters’, creating a tourist hub to rival other spa towns such as Harrogate, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Among its devotees were Emily Pankhurst, Sir Ernest Shackleton and Robert Louis Stevenson.
Between 1870 and 1939, this quaint hamlet north of Inverness developed into one of the most popular health resorts in Europe.
Even a young Franklin D Roosevelt and his new bride Eleanor chose to honeymoon there in 1905. He would go on to become a Second World War President of the United States.
Into this bonanza ventured sisters Aline and Catherine Corbett. In order to create a hotel to cater for Strathpeffer’s myriad visitors, they purchased a piece of land at the top of the town from the Countess of Cromarty on December 10, 1900.
Thankfully, an old photograph remains of the spinsters at the hotel they built – Dunraven Lodge – posing on the balcony, looking in the direction of Dingwall.
The sisters successfully ran their hospitality business for many years, interrupted only during the First World War, when Dunraven was requisitioned for use as a convalescent home for American GIs.
The black and white photograph of the Corbett sisters is still in the possession of the couple who own what is now a family home, Doug and Fiona MacKintosh.
Mrs MacKintosh, a former nurse, explained what attracted her to the 16-room building eight years ago.
She said: ‘I think it was the spaciousness of the place that first appealed to us – and the way it looked.
‘This is a nice part of the Highlands. Strathpeffer is a very friendly village and I had always wanted to live in a community of this size. As it is, we are just at the top of the village.’
Certainly, Dunraven’s dimensions, spread over three storeys, are impressive. You can see how it was run as a very successful hotel in the last century.
The ground floor has a suite of elegant apartments, including lounge, dining room, family room, study, sitting room and kitchen, with associated working rooms off.
There are five bedrooms, four of which are en suite, on the first floor. Here you will also find a number of dressing rooms and bathrooms.
Venture up to the second floor and a collection of no fewer than six further bedrooms awaits.
Yet this is no chilly old country house. A comfortable temperature is maintained by a wood pellet Ling boiler hopper, fed automatically from an adjacent bulk store. Mr MacKintosh, after all, is an engineer to trade.
MRS MacKintosh said: ‘We turned it back into a family home but you can see how it would work again as a B&B or boutique hotel. There are two stairwells and even the top floor could be used as a separate flat.’
The signature characteristic of the property is the gorgeous wooden balcony, painted blue, which wraps itself around the frontage. It also covers a lovely tiled porch, which would be perfect for sitting out of an evening, sipping a post-prandial malt.
It’s Mrs MacKintosh’s favourite part of the house. She said: ‘It’s south-facing, so it gets the sun a lot. I love it.’
Offers around £580,000 to Susan Breen of Harper Macleod. Tel 01463 795 006 or email susan.breen@harpermacleod.co.uk